Shattered
by thedoctorandriver
Summary: When a badly injured Doctor turns up on Torchwood's doorstep, Jack lets himself in for something more than he ever bargained for. Because when something is really, truly shattered, how do you put it back together? Doctor!Whump
1. Chapter 1

_A/N This is just an evil plot bunny that got hold of me and wouldn't let go! I hope you all enjoy! I just couldn't stop myself writing this because I love the relationship ten and Jack have! Its adorable! And if any of the Torchwood characters are OOC, I'm very sorry. I don't usually watch Torchwood (yes, you can kill me now) but I like it!_

_Disclaimer: If I owned either, you would be the first to know!_

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><p>Jack sighed and dropped forward, his hands supporting his head. The coffee mug on his cluttered desk spilt, the liquid spreading across his papers. He didn't care. Jack had had what he called "Ianto trouble" again. Ianto was jealous of Gwen, even though Jack had persistently protested that nothing had happened between them. Right now Ianto and the rest of the team were working next door, investigating some unusual energy spikes from the rift. Ianto had walked off with only a "Bye, sir". Ouch. Jack knew that when Ianto went all formal, he was really upset.<p>

_Vorp Vorp_

Jack's head perked up instantly. No. Could it be? He ran towards the noise, upending his desk in the process. He could hear the rest of the team rush out at the noise, but he ignored them. Could it really be the TARDIS?

A familiar blue shape filled the Hub, and Jack's face split into a wide grin.

"What's that?" Ianto pointed at the box with his gun. Gwen, Owen and Tosh were behind him, each with their respective weapons.

"Oh you can put those down. Its a friend," Jack grinned even more widely, but his smile soon faded when the Doctor still didn't come swanning out.

Jack strode forward, and took out his key. HisTARDIS key. He still had it, on a chain around his neck. Unlocking the door with a "Be right back," to his team, Jack stepped inside.

Instinctively, Jack knew something was wrong. The Doctor lay on the grating, his face pale. In his hand was a small packet. Jack's heart almost stopped. Aspririn.

Jack picked the unconscious Doctor up, cradling him against his chest. His frail form felt so fragile in comparison to Jack's frame. And he was so light...

Jack shook his head, remembering the aspirin. _God, Doctor, why would you do that? _He rushed outside, still holding the Doctor.

Gwen drew in a breath at the deadweight Jack held in his arms.

"Who is that?" Ianto repeated.

"A friend. And he needs help," Jack said curtly, and turned to Owen. No need for his friends to find out that the Doctor wasn't human yet. They hadn't exactly met any friendly aliens before. "Owen. Fix up a bed in the medical wing,"

Without waiting for a reply, Jack strode over to the TARDIS once again, and shifted the Doctor's weight to one arm easily. His free hand came to rest on the blue wood, like he had often seen the Doctor do. _Why did you bring him here, old girl? What happened? _There was no reply. Oh well. It was worth a try.

Without further ado, Jack laid the Doctor down onto the bed gently. The Doctor's pulse was still double, though it was beating a little slower than usual. Jack assumed this must be a side effect of the aspirin. Why would the Doctor take it? He took the packet out of his pocket, and noticed with relief that only one pill was missing. That would only be enough to make the Doctor a bit ill. Two pills would kill him.

Jack stripped the Doctor down, fro once without any dirtyu thoughts, and gasped. Three huge gashes scored his chest. With only one glance he could see they would need work.

"Owen!" Jack shouted. A few minutes later Owen came into the room, grumbling sopmthing about not being a puppy. Owen's eyes widened when he saw the Doctor's injuries but he said nothing.

"I'll fix him up. You better go and explain everything to everyone out there," Owen said, already getting out bandages and antiseptic.

Jack looked from the Doctor to the door, and decided he could leave for a little while.

"No aspirin," Jack warned as he went to meet his team.

Gwen, Ianto and Tosh's faces were all looking at him expectantly and Jack could tel they were confused.

"That man in there," Jack gestured to the door, "Is an old friend of mine, A very old friend," Jack smiled at his inside joke.

"Does he have something to do with when you vanished for a year?" Ianto demanded.

Jack nodded. "He's a good man. You all need to trust me. He's not very... stable at the moment, so don't let him get to the blue box, O.K?" Jack searched their faces, and nodded in satisfaction before he returned to the Doctor's side.

The Doctor was lying on the bed. His chest and head wrapped in gauze. His face was drawn and pale. Jack couldn't help shudder. He had never seen the Doctor like this before. The Doctor, who always his emotions from everyone. No wonder, if he was like this inside.

"The head?" Jack looked at Owen, remembering that he hadn't noticed any head wounds when he had found the Doctor.

"Bruising," Owen replied. "Minor," he added hastily at Jack's worried expression.

Jack sat down on the bed next to the Doctor and grabbed his hand, wincing at how cold it felt. He knew the Doctor had a lower temperature than humans, nut his hand felt like solid ice. Jack held on tightly, futilely trying to warm the Doctor's skin.

Jack wasn't sure how much time passed while the Doctor was unconscious. His mind began to wander off, though he kept one watchful eye awake to see if the Doctor needed anything. He thought back to all the other times he had seen the Doctor. Even the whole affair with the Master hadn't made the Doctor feel like this. Something truly bad must have happened to make him the way he was now.

Jack was startled out of his daydream by someone moving behind him. His head snapped around and he automatically crouched in front of the unmoving Doctor protectively before he realised it was just Gwen.

"Sorry," Jack said tersely and straightened up, resuming his bedside position. Gwen moved and sat next to him, careful not to jostle the bed too much.

"You really care for him, don't you?" She said, but it wasn't really a question.

"The Doctor, he made me what I am today. He made me a better person. Without him I would be nothing," Jack confessed, remembering his first meeting with the Doctor in war torn London.

Gwen nodded, and cast her eyes to the Doctor's still form. "He'll be alright," she reassured Jack.

"He has to be,"

A small moan could be heard from next to Jack and Gwen. Both pairs of eyes stared at the Doctor. He was writhing in his covers, whimpering. Jack stroked his hair a bit, whispering soothing words into his ear. At first the Doctor recoiled but eventually he calmed down. The Doctor tried to roll over, and winced in pain when this aggravated his injuries. Gwen laid a hand on his forehead and drew back in shock.

"Jack," she said urgently. "He's freezing cold,"

Jack chuckled without real enthusiasm. "That's normal for him. Well... Normal-ish,"

Gwen scrutinized Jack for a moment before looking back at the Doctor. "You need some food, Jack,"

"Not hungry," Jack waved off.

Gwen shook her head and pursed her lips. "I'll ask Ianto to make you a coffee," She exited quickly and Jack sighed in defeat. He hoped Ianto wasn't still angry with him.

When no Ianto came, Jack could tell he had obviously not forgiven Jack yet. Gwen came instead, holding a tea tray in one hand and a warm flannel in the other. She set down the tray on the table and walked over to Jack.

"Owen said he might need it," Gwen explained and started mopping the Doctor's forehead.

The Doctor's chocolate brown eyes flew wide open for a moment, and Gwen paled visibly at the raw pain that filled them. They rested on her face and he started muttering. "No, no, I-" the rest of his sentence faded off as his eyes fell closed again, his breathing ragged. Jack reached out a hand to the Doctor's arm, but the latter flinched away as if burned. Jack dropped his hand.

Gwen looked at Jack, who shrugged. "He's done this before. He says it's because I'm... wrong," Jack suddenly caught a bout of worry. What if the Doctor actually hurt every time Jack touched him? And the Doctor, being the martyr he was, probably just suffered in silence.

"Shh..." Jack tucked the covers in closer, careful not to touch any bare skin. "Hush now, sweethearts, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you,"

"No, no, Jack..." the Doctor trailed off.

"Shh," Jack said sternly. "Sleep,"

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><p>It took the Doctor four days of half natural, half induced sleep to finally recover enough to wake up properly. Jack spent this time in a frenzied worry since the Doctor's chest wasn't healing as it should. Time lords were supposed to heal much faster than humans, but the Doctor's wounds still looked the same as before, only marginally better. And then there was the problem of Ianto. As far as Jack could tell, Gwen, Tosh and Owen had accepted the Doctor's presence in the Hub, but Ianto had to refused to speak to Jack or visit the Doctor, and was avoiding him.<p>

Jack sighed. So many problems to sort out.

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><p><em>Review please! If you review, I will post the next chapter sooner! But I only have about four or five chapters planned for this.<em>

_Review! Review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N Here is chapter 2! And thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot to me!  
>For example; <em>_**The rose that never was, Dengirl, Dame Rose Tyler, Pipkin Sweetgrass, Annabeth The Unicorn, **__and__** I am Me. Deal. **__And all those who reviewed anonymously! : )  
>Also a big thank you and a virtual hug to all those people who favouritealerted!  
>Without further ado, on to the chapter! Hope you all enjoy, and please don't forget to review! Good or bad, I want to know! : )<em>

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><p>"Jack!" Owen burst into Jack's office, flinging open the door. "The Doctor's up now. I thought you might want to come and see him,"<p>

Jack didn't bother replying; he had already barged past the medic and was making his way to the Doctor's room. He heard the Doctor before he saw him. Muffled sobs were coming from his direction.

"Doctor," Jack looked around. The Doctor was huddled in the corner of the room, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Doctor!" Jack sat on the bed, and looked the Doctor in the eye. His wide brown orbs were filled with animalistic fear, like a deer that might bolt at any second. Slowly, Jack edged forward, not making any sudden movements. He raised his arms to give the Doctor a hug, but he flinched. Jack could only imagine what had happened to him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I swear," Jack moved closer and gathered an unwilling Doctor in his arms. For a moment he remained unresponsive, curling himself into a ball, but then he began to sob. His long fingers clutched Jack's military jacket and his long eyelashes were framed with tears.

"Shh," Jack rocked the Doctor back and forth, his heart melting at this adorable, vulnerable side of his best friend. "What happened?" Jack asked after a while, still rubbing the Doctor's back.

Immediately the Doctor stiffened, his arms contracting. Jack regretted asking. The Doctor obviously wasn't ready yet. It was worth a try. Jack continued rocking the Doctor back and forth, repeating the words "It's OK," over and over again.

"Do you want something to eat?" Jack asked. The Doctor was even skinnier than usual, so fragile...

The Doctor's brown eyes found Jack's and he opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He blinked deliberately, like he didn't trust himself to speak.

"Right. I'll just go-" Jack tried to extract himself from the Doctor's embrace but the Doctor held on tightly, his eyes filling with fear. Jack sighed.

"Tosh!" he called over his shoulder. Said person came into the room holding a small selection of alien technology.

"We've found a new pattern in the energy spikes-"Tosh began, but Jack silenced her.

"Can you get him some-" Jack stopped. The Doctor had fallen asleep in his arms. "Never mind," he put the Doctor back down onto the bed gently, tucking him in haphazardly with the blankets. Then he stood up.

"You might as well show me, then,"

The pair walked out, and Tosh animatedly started pointing at the graph on her computer screen. "We've been having more rift activity lately. I thought it was just random, but if you account for the results with these added in-" Tosh clicked something and a new line came up on the graph, joining the tips of the spikes together. "There's a pattern. The energy readings get bigger and bigger, then stop completely for a while. It's been going on too long for it to be a coincidence. It almost seems like something is trying to get through..." Tosh trailed off and bit her lip.

Jack assessed the situation and sighed. "Whatever it is, the Doctor is our first priority, alright?"

Tosh nodded. "You should go and speak to Ianto, Jack. He's been really upset lately and I know things are going a bit rocky at the moment but you need to sort it out," Tosh then hid her face by looking back at the computer screen, obviously feeling a bit embarrassed at her outburst. Jack wondered if someone like Gwen had put her up to it – he had never known that Tosh caught on to these things.

"Right," Jack nodded gruffly and turned on his heel. Inwardly he cursed. What had happened to his clever flirty comments? The Doctor was rubbing off on him. But he did need to speak to the Doctor sometime…

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><p>Ianto was in the kitchen, making yet another of his famous cups of coffee.<p>

"Hey, beautiful," Jack winked.

Ianto didn't respond, just gave Jack a detached nod before turning back to the cup. Jack decided to try a different approach. His mojo really seemed nonexisten today. "Look, Ianto, I don't know why you're being like this. Just tell me, maybe we can-"

"You don't know!" Ianto shouted. "You don't know what's wrong! And every other day you bring in some new person and leave me for second best again! Good old Ianto, he won't mind, is that it?"

"Ianto, listen-"

"No! You listen, Jack! Listen for once! I'm tired of being good old Ianto, who you turn to when there's no one else!" Ianto gave Jack one last hurt glare, and then all the emotion seemed to drain from him. He stared expressionlessly at the wall, an obvious invitation for Jack to leave.

"Ianto, I promise, there was nothing between me and Gwen. And the Doctor," _however many times I've tried, _"Isn't interested in me that way. Ianto, it's just like you to be jealous all the time. I really don't know if this is working out. But we can talk about it later. Because now the Doctor is in trouble, and God knows the universe doesn't survive without him,"

"And it can survive without me?" Ianto demanded sullenly.

"Yes – no, I… Ianto, its time I told you something. Can we talk over a cup of coffee?" jack asked hopefully, but there was also a grim determination in his face. He had to tell his team that the Doctor was an alien sometime, and he didn't know how they would react. Torchwood hadn't exactly dealt with friendly aliens to date, and when they found out they were harbouring one…

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><p>"The Doctor…" Jack began, sipping his coffee, which was slightly too hot for it to be chance, "He isn't like you and me. People call him the Oncoming Storm. He isn't human," Jack gritted his teeth and watched Ianto's reaction. However, unbeknownst to him, Owen was listening from behind the door as well.<p>

"Thought as much whenI noticed the two hearts. Your friend might be the Oncoming Storm, Jack, but right now he just looks like living hell," Owen said bluntly, stepping out from behind the door. "Are you sure he can be trusted? Right now he's no threat to anyone, but you never know how good at acting those things are,"

"I trust the Doctor with my life," Jack said seriously. "I always will, and I always have."

Ianto was staring at Jack blankly, and Jack waved a hand in front of his face. "You O.K?"

"Figures," Ianto said slowly, "That you would like an alien more than me-" Ianto broke off that train of thought at Jack's face, and started again. "It makes sense, the blue box and everything,"

"Are you going to tell Gwen?" Owen asked, bringing up the subject Jack had been tactfully avoiding.

"How do you think she'll react?" Jack thought of all the kind little things Gwen had been doing for the Doctor. Would she stop?

"She won't mind. She's completely besotted with him already," Ianto said grudgingly. Jack smiled a little. The Doctor tended to have that effect on anyone he met, whether conscious or not.

"When the Doctor's better," Jack decided. "And don't tell anyone. We don't want another branch of Torchwood or UNIT coming here and arresting him,"

"Owen! Jack!" Gwen rushed in suddenly, panting and out of breath. She stopped and bent over for a second before continuing. "Come quickly! The Doctor's having some sort of fit!"

_Yes, I know, it's one of these again!_ _Hope you're not bored of them! I know there wasn't much Doctor whump in this chapter, but there's way more coming up! This was just a filler chapter! And please review and tell me – do you want Jack and Ianto to be together, or shall I break them up? At the moment anything is possible! You choice…_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N So here is the new chapter of shattered. Sadly I've only written about five chapters so far but I know where I'm going with this story now (it was a bit hazy at the beginning) so it shouldn't be too long between updates.  
>Please remember to review - review make me happy, and happy writers type faster!<br>Also, I just wanted to mention that having seizures is really serious - my friend has had a few lately and I decided to find out some more about them. People can stop breathing and bite off their own tongues while having these fits. So in a way, this is dedicated to my friend. I hope you guys aren't currently, or ever will, suffer from these.  
>And (sorry about the long AN) thank you to oceanwave7 who thought of some of the things the doctor does in this chapter. See, I didn't forget! And also, I'm gonna incorporate that into later chapters as well – it's given me a great idea! _

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><p>"Hold him down," Owen instructed.<p>

The Doctor was lying on the bed - his limbs spasming jerkily. His breathing was getting slower and more laboured. His hands were clawing the air, even now seeming like a cornered animal. And cornered animals will bite.

Ianto stepped forwards, firmly pinning down the Doctor's arms. Jack gave him a grateful look while he himself struggled to keep the Doctor's chest down.

"Blimey, he's strong," Ianto remarked. Jack shook his head. It should have been no problem for the Doctor, a Time Lord, to break out of even three strong men's grip. Jack was getting more and more worried.

_Hiss…_

Owen squeezed a sedative into the Doctor's shoulder. His eyes fell shut with a heartbreakingly accusing stare, and Jack looked away quickly. He sprang around the room, finally finding what he had been fearing. Another box of aspirin lay next to the bed.

"Owen," Jack began murderously quietly. "Why did you let him have this! I told you it's deadly to him!"

"What did you expect me to do, remove all the aspirin from the room?" Owen snapped back.

"Yes, actually, that would be a start!" Jack looked away from Owen's incredulous face before he punched it, and searched the Doctor's pockets, checking that no more of the offending tablets were lurking there.

Why, Doctor, why would you keep trying to do this?

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was mere minutes, the Doctor's twitches died down. Owen redid the sedative, knowing that the light one he had administered before wouldn't keep the Time Lord asleep for long.

"We need to talk, Jack," Owen said, pulling him outside.

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><p>Jack leant against the wall, brooding. He still hadn't forgiven Owen for the aspirin incident even though deep inside it wasn't all Owen's fault. It was- Jack couldn't bring himself to blame the Doctor.<p>

"It's not the first time he's tried this, is it?"

Jack's silence was an answer unto itself. He straightened up and glared at Owen. "But if you had gotten rid of the bloody aspirin it would never have happened!" Jack shouted.

"That's not the problem here, Jack, and you know it," Owen said calmly. "You need to find out what happened to him, or he can't heal. Mental illnesses are the hardest to cure,"

"He's not mentally injured!" Jack screamed loudly.

Owen just looked at him sympathetically.

"I'm working on it," Jack muttered, and strode back into the room. The Doctor's arm flopped off the side of the bed and Jack stopped dead. In a flash he was at the Time Lord's side and rolled up his sleeve. The Doctor's skin was littered with pale, raised marks. Barely healed scars.

"Doctor," Jack breathed. He could see how he had missed this the first time he had checked the Doctor for any harm - the pale colour was barely distinguishable from the Doctor's skin unless the light fell from the right angle. But the big question was; had someone done this to the Doctor? Or had he done it to himself? Jack shuddered. He didn't know which was worse.

Carefully, Jack rolled down the Doctor's sleeve again, and took the sleeping form into his arms. Even in sleep, people should be able to feel if someone was hugging them. And even Time Lords needed hugs sometimes.

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><p>An hour later, Jack looked at the clock nervously. The sedative should be wearing off around now.<p>

As if on cue, the Doctor's eyes flickered open. He took in his surroundings, and curled himself closer into Jack's coat.

_A/N Sorry about interrupting in the middle of the story but I just had to say – apparently there is a website or something where you can translate English into Gallifreyan. I've seen quite few people use it in their fics but I can't find it anywhere! So if anyone knows where I could do that, please tell me! For now I'm just using random symbols…_

"_!*&^%$33"!"£$%)*^$%!"_ The Doctor babbled on, and Jack stiffened. He guessed the Doctor was talking in Gallifreyan. But why? Jack knew that the TARDIS translated languages for him, so was something wrong with it? Did that mean the Doctor couldn't speak English at all? 900 years, he was bound to pick up some though, Jack concluded. Something was wrong with the Doctor, and Jack wouldn't rest until he found out.

Ianto watched on from the sides as Jack cradled the Doctor, rubbing his back. A pang of jealousy shot through him, but his common sense soon overwhelmed this irrational emotion. How could he feel anything but pity for the frail, whimpering creature in Jack's arms? He was no threat to anyone at the moment.

"Jack?" Ianto stepped in carefully.

The said immortal looked up in relief. "The Doctor's finally fallen asleep. But I want to be hear when he wakes up. Care to give me some company?" Jack asked hopefully. He hated having arguments with Ianto.

Ianto hesitated. It wasn't an order, he noticed. Jack was giving him a choice. "Is there anything I can get for him?" he gestures towards the Doctor.

Jack's eyes widened, making Ianto feel guilty. Was it really that unlikely that he would want to help the Doctor? Yes, he decided. He hadn't exactly been friendly towards the Time Lord since he had arrived. Jealousy is a green eyed monster, Ianto, a voice said in his head.

Jack turned to look at Ianto with proper heartfelt gratitude. He seemed to relish the idea of talking about the Doctor. "Jammy dodgers, he loves those. And bananas. You should have seen him, before, always talking about them..."Jack trailed off, lost in memories.

Taking a deep breath, Ianto suggested, "Do you want me to stay with him for a bit, so you can go to the shops?" it's not healthy for you to stay cooped up in here all day with him, was the undercurrent of unspoken words. "I'll keep him away from aspirin, don't worry, and if anything happens I can phone you right away,"

"...ok" Jack half reluctantly untangled his arms from the Doctor and sighed. "Hugs. He likes hugs. Be gentle though, I'm the only one who's touched him since he's been here..." Jack clapped Ianto on the back and left the room.

Ianto stood about awkwardly, before moving forward to the chair that had been pulled up next to the bed. A heap of brown pinstriped suit was huddled on the covers, twitching every so often. Even though the Doctor was obviously sleeping, Ianto still felt like he was being watched. Pulling his jumper around him, Ianto shook off the feeling.

Ianto took this as an opportunity to properly study this... Doctor. His face seemed drawn and thin, dark shadows under his eyes. Heck, he looked like he'd been through a lot. When the Time Lord rolled over and whimpered, Ianto's heart melted like everyone's eventually did.

He reached out to brush some of the Doctor's hair from his forehead, and tried to move the alien's cramped arm into a more comfortable position. As he did so, his breath caught. Ianto, like Jack before him, had noticed the crude scars that covered the Doctor's arms. He, however, also saw something on the inside of the Doctor's wrist. Peering closer, he was repulsed. The Doctor had been branded - and ugly red welt spelt out he initials U.S. Ianto wondered what had happened to the Doctor. He was quite sure the man had been tortured, but by who, and why? What made him want to kill himself? He couldn't help being intrigued by the alien in front of him. He could finally see how Jack had been pulled in. The Doctor had that effect on people, whether asleep or awake.

"Rose," A sound escaped from the Doctor's lips. "Donna... Bowie Base, no, victorious..."

Ianto was puzzled, but filed the words away for future use - maybe Jack would know what they meant. He decided not to mention the brand on the Doctor's wrist to Jack - it was better if he found out for himself.

Settling back in his chair, Ianto kept watch for the lonely and utterly broken man in front of him.

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><p>AN I hope you enjoyed! I was thinking of bringing Rose back for this story, but I don't think it would work that well - this story is about healing the Doctor after everything that happened, not changing the things that happened. Let me know what you think though - it's up to you guys:) review and let me know what you want to happen or any characters you want to come back!

Btw if you liked these types of fics, I really recommend reading stories by unslinky on teaspoon - they are amazing!


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N I'm just going to apologise for the long wait and any future ones now. I wish I could promise that it will never happen again but I don't lie. But here is the chapter! I hope you enjoy it! I will try to update sooner next time, but it definitely won't be less than a week!_

"We're getting something!" Tosh cried out, her eyes expertly looking over the screen. "It's a transmission," she confirmed. All of the Torchwood team had gathered around her at the first sign of a signal from the rift, leaving a slumbering Doctor next to door.

"Wait a sec…" Tosh bit her lip, frantically clicking things until a small window appeared. The mouse hovered over the play button.

"We want the Doctor," a low gravelly voice hissed out. The team were silent for a few seconds to see if anything else was added to the message. Then Jack jumped up and ran out. He came back in a moment later, a relieved expression on his face.

"He's fine," Jack said. He didn't need to specify who. "Just sleeping," His face hardened. "They may think the Doctor's vulnerable right now, but they thought without me." With that statement he brusquely strode up to Tosh and sat down next to her.

"Trace that signal. We need to know what we're dealing with,"

"On it," Tosh replied, her fingers dancing out experience patterns on the keyboard.

"Tell me when you find something," Jack answered. He looked over at Ianto, Gwen and Owen. "We want the hub in total lockdown from now." He ordered. "Nothing goes in; nothing goes out until we find out who wants the Doctor and why. And they've been… disposed of."

"Jack… Don't you think you're taking this a little seriously?" Gwen asked, and her expression mirrored Ianto's.

"No!" Jack snapped, glaring at her, though a small part of him acknowledged that the anger was irrational. "You don't know how many things out there want to kill him! And he keeps on doing what he does, without a thank you, he's-" Jack broke off and stormed out of the room, trying to keep calm.

"We'll do it Jack, of course we will, it's just that sometimes we want you to explain things…" Gwen's voice called from behind the door. Jack ignored her and sat down beside the Doctor.

"Oh, Doctor. Why do people have to choose this time to try and kidnap you or god knows what? You need rest, and care, and not… not some other probably alien invasion you have to fight off!" Jack drew lazy circles over the unresponsive man's hand. "Don't worry, Doc. I'll deal with whatever's happening at the moment, O.K?" Jack sighed. The Doctor's eyebrows knitted a little but otherwise there was no signal that he had heard anything.

"Get some sleep," Owen was standing in the doorway. Jack was about to protest, but instead stood up. This was the second time people had relieved him from Doctor – watching. The time lord was unconscious anyway, and he did need some sleep. He cringed in horror at the thought of someone trying to steal the Doctor away and himself being too tired to defend his friend.

Jack opened bleary eyes and panicked for a second before remembering that the Doctor was safe and sound next door. He stood up and pulled on a pair of sweatpants with a white t shirt, barely pausing to check his reflection in the mirror before hurrying off. What awaited him next door was not what he had expected.

The Doctor was once again huddled in the corner, like he had been when he first came to Torchwood. The fear in his eyes hurt to look at. And Owen was standing in the middle of the room, innocently holding a black tape recorder.

"Owen?" Jack asked, determined not to make any judgements before he actually knew what had happened.

The medic looked at Jack unashamedly. "I found it a bit odd that after an injured man turns up on our doorstep some aliens-"

"We don't know for sure that the voice was an alien, Owen," Jack reminded him, and then motioned for him to continue.

"Anyway I thought it might be linked. So I played back the recording to the… Doctor. It had a pretty big effect," Owen had the nerve to smile broadly with this last comment.

Jack didn't know whether to be angry or happy that they had found out some more information. He was a mixture of both. Owen's crude way of finding things out was certainly… Successful. Jack decided not to say anything. Instead he turned to the Doctor.

"Did the people on the recording do this to you?" Jack asked the time lord. It was like speaking to a frightened trembling brick wall. Jack felt an unexpected surge of anger. He moved forward and grabbed the Doctor by the shoulders, shaking him a little bit.

"Did they do this?" He shouted in the Doctor's face. The Doctor helplessly writhed in Jack's grip before his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

"Shit, I'm so sorry Doc," the reality of what he had done overthrew him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"

_A/N Evil little cliffhanger there! Sorry about the short chapter, but if I hadn't ended it there it would have been too long! But since I did that I can confidently say that the next update will actually not be too long away. I can't speak for any after that…_

_Please review! Thoughts, ideas and corrections will be very appreciated by moi. _


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N I am completely shameless. I just lied to you guys __**again**__ and I feel really bad. So basically, this story will have completely random updates (sorry if that puts you off) but I __**definitely**__ plan on finishing it. Now that's all finished, let's get to the story._

_And a bit off topic, did anyone else just go SQUEEE in the children in need spoof and trailer for the Christmas episode? I'm not gonna give anything away, but go watch it on YouTube. Nooooowwwww!_

"You shouldn't have done that,"

Jack jumped at the sound of another human voice. Gwen was standing in the doorway, looking at him coldly.

"I KNOW!" Jack shouted. "I know," he said again, more quietly. A single tear found its way onto his chapped lips. "I need to go," he said abruptly and nearly ran out of the room.

Jack slid down the wall, ending up leaning against it with his head bowed. "I always mess everything up," he muttered. "If I could just have stopped myself from doing that, I-" Jack stopped. He stared at the peeling plaster opposite him angrily.

"It happens to the best of us," Ianto had crept up beside him, like a lot of people seemed to do to Jack these days.

Jack looked at Ianto. "It shouldn't. It doesn't – none of you picked him up and shook him so hard he passed out with fear. We were getting somewhere, he was beginning to trust me, I…"

Ianto didn't say anything for a moment, looking like he was deep in thought. "Think back to the real Doctor," Ianto said unexpectedly. Then he shifted uncomfortably. "Well, he's still real, but you know what I mean,"

"What about him?" Jack asked sullenly.

"Well, has he ever forgiven you for things you think you should be punished for?" Ianto didn't wait for an answer, just stood up and turned away, like the subject was painful for him. "Dinner is in half an hour," he said over his shoulder.

Jack thought over Ianto's words. Yes, the Doctor had forgiven him for things he still felt ashamed of now. Like trying to sell a supposedly empty airship when he had been a conman and turning London into a zombie haven. In his mind's eye, a spiky haired, pin striped man turned around and flashed him a trademark grin.

"I'll never do that again, Doctor, I swear. I'll be patient, and I will get you back to how you used to be. No," he amended, "Better than normal. Because sometimes, I see this completely ruined expression in your eyes and I wonder how bad your normal is,"

_A/N Yes, this was a short and pathetic excuse for a chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it! I have something bigger planned for the next chapter when I finally get around to writing it!_

_And also, keep reviewing! And reading! And alerting! That gives me more enthusiasm to carry on!  
>A Big Thank You to everyone who has reviewed or alerted because I am soooo grateful! If I had the money and power, I'd buy you all a life sized doll of Captain Jack or whatever you wanted! But I don't have the money, so, before I get too depressed about that here you go, a virtual hug. *Gives virtual hug*<em>

_Thanks! Review! : )_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N So I the wait wasn't too long this time was it? I gave you a very dramatic chapter because I am going on holiday until January now so although I WILL write, I can't update until then. :( I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please review because that will make me update sooner (sneaky smile :))_

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><p>The smell of fresh coffee invaded Jack's nostrils. Looking up, he saw that a steaming cup of it was placed on the desk his head had fallen asleep on. Wait - desk? Then Jack remembered the events of last night. Crap. Jack stood up quickly, stretching his stiff limbs. He gulped down the coffee, the scalding liquid burning his throat and bringing him into a higher state of awareness. He had to go and apologise, somehow make it up to the Doctor!<p>

A look around the Time Lord's dim room told him one thing immediately - the Doctor wasn't there. The duvets had been made messily and one box of bandages was missing from the bedside table. Jack feared the worst. Had the Doctor tried to commit suicide again? He rushed out, streaking past someone sitting in Tosh's chair...

He stopped in his tracks, turning around incredulously. The Doctor, who a few days ago had trouble walking, was sprawled in the chair, his fingers hitting the keyboard at impossible speeds. Jack opened his mouth but nothing came out. The Doctor seemed to notice his presence however, and spoke up.

"There was a nasty spaceship from the future orbiting earth, looking for m-... Never mind, they're gone now." At the end of the sentence, the Doctor's voice had hardened and Jack didn't dare to ask what had happened to them.

The Doctor turned around and offered Jack an obviously force smile. "Well, I'd best be off," he said with false cheer.

Jack didn't understand what had brought on this change in personality. What was the Doctor doing here? "...You-" Jack still couldn't speak properly. He took a second to order his thoughts and regain his power of speech. "No," he managed.

The Doctor's change in demeanour was instant. His spine stiffened and the grip on his coat tightened. "What did you say?" his voice was impossibly icy.

"No," Jack said more confidently. "Ianto, Gwen, come here!" He needed some support, since for once the glare the Doctor usually directed at his enemies was intended straight for him. He almost relaxed with relief when the said two people walked in to stand behind him. Jack heard their intake of breath the Doctor standing there. Owen came in as well, and he tut-tutted annoyedly as he saw the Time Lord up on his feet, no doubt a result of his medical mind kicking in.

The Doctor was visibly shaking with anger.

"You're not leaving," Jack stated. He stepped forward and grabbed the Doctor's arm, Owen doing the same to the other arm on instinct.

"You can't leave!" Gwen protested. "Look at you!" She motioned at his pale skin and drawn cheeks.

With little effort, the Doctor shook himself free of Jack and Owen, easily sending them flying across the room. Gwen gasped in shock.

The Doctor's eyes were murderous. "I AM NOT A BIRD TO BE CAGED!" he roared. "I'VE SPENT FAR TOO LONG REPRESSING MY NATURE, TRYING TO HELP YOU HUMANS, AND ALL YOU DO IS BREAK MY HEARTS," he ripped open his shirt with inhuman strength, revealing the puckered scars he had arrived with. "This. Is. Me!" he punctuated every word with a thump to his chest. "I'M TIRED OF HIDING!"

There was a shocked silence in the room as his words sunk into the ears of the occupants. Tosh rushed through the door, her footsteps eerily loud. "What's the matter? I heard shouting..." She looked around at the mess and her face shifted as she saw the Doctor with his ripped shirt. "...oh,"

Jack pulled himself up from the floor and started towards the Doctor cautiously. The alien looked at him and all the tension flooded out of his body. His shoulders sagged and the ice in his eyes melted, to be replaced with pure sorrow.

"I'm - I... I-" the Doctor began, and Jack was there to catch him as he fainted.

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><p><em>AN Yep, it's a cliff hanger. Sorry? And if any of you see any mistakes, please tell me! I wrote this on my iPod, and didn't have any time to read it through.  
>And again... Review! Please? Thanks to everyone who reviewedfavourited/alerted:) I am really sorry if I didn't acknowledge some of your reviews - I swear I tried my best but my life is really hectic lately. :(  
>So please make it better by reviewing!<em>


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! I'm back! After a long and quite boring holiday:)

So I wrote this while I was snowed-in in a house in Switzerland with NO INTERNET CONNECTION IN A 20 MILE RADIUS! On my iPod, which is definitely not my favourite way of writing. But no matter. Here is "le chapter." Hope you all enjoy it! Please review to take me out of my misery at the RS assignment I have to do for tomorrow.

Review! Please?

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><p>"He's gone mad. Crazy, stark, raving, bonkers insane," Owen commented disdainfully.<p>

Jack glared at him, but he didn't have any energy to defend the Doctor further.

Gwen stepped forward. "Jack," she said accusingly. "He's not human, is he?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "I forgot to tell you," he lied.

"So you just forget to tell us that your long lost best friend is an alien!" she demanded.

"We already knew," Owen said, and Jack gave him another death glare.

"You all knew about this!" Gwen shouted, her eyes sparkling.

"If it helps, I didn't," Tosh offered. Jack almost jumped at the sound of her voice.

"I don't mind the fact that he's an alien, just that you'll tell everyone but me, I can't-" Gwen shook her head, her lips pursed.

Jack felt a sudden bout of anger, thinking of the Time Lord who was slumped in his arms. "You are so selfish Gwen!" he burst out. Everyone looked at him with surprised expressions. "Maybe my first priority wasn't telling everyone the Doctor's personal business but getting the man all of existence owes their lives to well again!"

Gwen was silent. Owen whistled.

Jack looked at the Doctor's face again. "Look, I can't - I need to - just leave me alone with the Doctor for a while. He's more important than any stupid fights we're having,"

Ianto abruptly stood up. "It's always going to be like this, isn't it? The Doctor will always be more important to you than anyone else."

Jack couldn't say anything. Ianto took this as a conformation.

"I guess I'll be going then. It's nice to finally know the truth," he snarled.

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><p><em>AN Yes don't kill me! This is important for the plot! Ianto will be back, and I'm probably not breaking him and Jack up. I do think that Jack will always be in love with the Doctor, but I can't ever see them actually getting properly together, (however much I read FF and dream). I think one of the things that attracts Jack to the Doctor is the fact he's never going to have him. Now enough rambling. _

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><p>Ianto walked out, pushing over the chair that was near him.<p>

Jack looked around. "Anyone else going to leave? Because if you are then just get out right now!"

Owen snorted. "We're not leaving you alone with that nutcase. He needs to be restrained,"

A few seconds later Owen lay on the floor, knocked out by a quite heavy punch to the head.

"That's what I think of anyone who insults the Doctor again, is that clear?" Jack asked, shaking with rage. He had been so sure everything was getting better but since that one moment of madness when he had flipped out on the Doctor his whole life was crumbling.

"Right," he said, and hefting the Doctor over one shoulder (a part of him worrying about the fact he seemed to only weigh sixty pounds) he strode out.

"Jack?"

Jack looked up straight away. The Doctor's eyes were opening slowly.

Jack was at his bedside in an instant.

"I'm sorry, Jack," he mumbled.

"Don't worry, it's going to be ok," Jack said, not sure who he was trying to convince. It was the wrong thing to say.

"They always said that!" the Doctor accused, his eyes looking truly livid. Jack shrank back. "Always! It's a lie! I thought I could trust you! It was a mistake! I can never trust any of you humans! Never!" the Doctor was screaming the last words again, and Jack recognised this as the start of what he had done before. He was powerless to stop it.

The Doctor began swearing a long string of words that Jack had never imagined could come from his mouth. The he broke off into a dozen languages at the same time. Most of them were foreign, but he could hear one recurring phrase all the way through. "Ti odio,"

Jack may not know much Italian, but he remembered enough from his long ago Time Agent training to translate that. I hate you. His heart began to shatter even more than it already was but he ignored it. That's not the Doctor speaking, he told himself. It's just his... Whatever's happened to him. Don't listen.

A hand came up and hit him in the nose, hard. Jack leapt back from the bed, avoiding the Doctor's flailing arms.

"You might want these," Owen said from behind him.

Jack turned around, remembering that he was still annoyed at Owen for all his comment earlier. Owen was holding four pairs of metal clamps. Jack didn't want to have to tie the Doctor down like that, since it would create completely the wrong impression, but the way he was now really left no other choice. Because, whatever he did to deny it, the Doctor would always be the most deadly weapon in existence. And if he was let loose on the universe in the state he was now - Jack shuddered.

"Ok. Give them here," he said.

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><p>AN So this chapter was longer than the last one, right? I wanted to make it longer but my iPod's battery gave out a few minutes after that last sentence and I wanted to post this as soon as I got back. Also, I feel like I have changed Owen's character a bit, but I just want him to be the way he is now, so that's how he is going to be. If you don't want to think of Owen like that, just pretend he is an OC or something :)

Review please! Review! Review are like water, or food or (goes into a long list)

But review :) I am shamelessly begging.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N Here is my next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, or favourited or alerted. Especially **Petrichor7**. I love you!

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><p>The Doctor was now fastened to his bed with metal clamps at the arms and legs. Jack hated seeing him like this. Constantly sedating the Doctor was not going to help him get better, he thought angrily. He had vowed to make the Doctor better, find out what was wrong with him. That hadn't worked out so far. He moved towards the Doctor, wondering what could have happened to the Time Lord to make him like this. It was so confusing.<p>

Jack's eyes skimmed the Doctor's face. Prominent cheekbones, slight freckles, and hair that looked like he had been backwards through a hedge by the sight of its spikes. There was nothing that gave away any clues of what might have happened. Jack sighed. He gathered everything he knew in a mental list.

-The Doctor had arrived, injured.

-He has aspirin with him in the TARDIS.

-The flinching. Then the fit.

The list went on, ending where Jack had had to restrain the Doctor because of his flailing arms. At least, Jack hoped they were just flailing, not purposely punching him.

All of the evidence mourned to the conclusion that something bad had happened to the Doctor. Well done, Jack, how clever of you, he sarcastically congratulated himself.

Creeeeaaaaakkk.

Jack looked up. There was nowhere for the noise to be coming from. He put it aside as his imagination.

He had to wake the Doctor up, Jack decided. Thinking back over everything the Doctor had done in the past, he couldn't see the Doctor harming him anymore. The stray fist must have been one of the peculiar reflexes he had. Jack's face hardened. He was quite sure that the Doctor had been tortured. That would explain the flinches and the pale, almost malnourished skin. Jack would put a stop to that and make sure the Doctor ate properly. Jack himself had been tortured before, but not very badly. Even that time in the year that never was, it was as if the Master had been holding back. Jack gulped. It had probably been the Doctor protecting him from the mad Time Lord's rage. The realisation made him even angrier. How could someone damage the Doctor so? He stopped himself from thinking about it more, knowing this would just lead to all consuming anger when he needed to stay calm so he could help the Doctor.

Creeeaaaaakkkkkk.

Jack definitely heard the noise this time. But still, looking around, he could not see anything out of place.

Jack shrugged. He looked at the Doctor's face for the hundredth time the last five minutes. It was hypnotising to watch sleep flicker over his eyelids, knowing that the Doctor could be dreaming of anything from a desert a million years ago to a jungle billions of years in the future on another planet.

The Doctor thrashed around in his sleep a bit, his movements restricted. A whimper escaped his mouth. Jack sighed. Or the Doctor might be thinking of whatever he had gone through before he had turned up at Torchwood.

Creeeeaaaaaakkkkk.

Jack definitely heard something this time. His eyes roamed the room, looking for the source. Oh. Jack let out a breath only to draw it in again. The clamps were obviously having no effect. Even in his sleep, the Doctor was slowly bending the metal. Jack wondered how much of his true self the Doctor ever showed anyone. He had thought he knew the man, but as time went on he was feeling more and more unsure. The Doctor was always so guarded, shying away from anyone who tried to come too close. The sickeningly superhuman strength the Time Lord was exhibiting was just another one of his secrets.

The alien's eyelids flickered. Jack's heart beat much faster in his chest and for a moment he wondered if the Doctor could hear it.

"Doctor?" he asked gently, not sure what reaction he would get.

The Doctor's eyes opened fully and he looked around with a panicked expression for a few seconds before his face settled back into one of his usual masks.

"I'm sorry," he said, and continued before Jack could get a word in. "I let myself get... Out of control. It won't happen again, I promise,"

"Doctor..." Jack didn't quite know what to say. He really wanted to know what had happened to the Doctor but judging the last events this was definitely not something which would be helpful right now. "I forgive you," he said honestly.

The Doctor looked at him gratefully and easily ripped away the clamps that held him to the bed. Jack watched for any reaction to the way he had been bound but apart from a look of disappointment the Doctor's face remained expressionless. A poker face, Jack remembered.

"Jack?"

"Yes?"

"How bad was I?" the Doctor pursed his lips.

"What do you mean-"

"Spare me the truth. How bad did I flip out?" the Doctor said, his tone a little harsh.

Jack looked at him and then opened his mouth to answer but the Doctor cut him off.

"I'm sorry. I just - 900 years and then suddenly all of that..." the Doctor had the same faraway look again.

"All of what?" Jack probed carefully. "What happened?"

The Doctor looked at him and grinned, but it was a fake sort of grin, not reaching his eyes. Now thinking back, Jack realised that there were only few occasions that the Doctor had really smiled. Mostly it was just part of his frail facade.

"Nothing happened. Don't be silly, I'm fine. Always,"

Jack wanted to protest that he had scars all over his arms and had tried to kill himself but he knew it wouldn't do any use. Once again, he was sure that he was not going to let the Doctor go anywhere. He just had to go about it more subtly. That way he could find out more about the Doctor's recent past as well.

"Doctor?" Jack asked.

The Time Lord had been staring at the floor dazedly. His head snapped up violently, and for a second Jack was scared he was about to start shouting like he had only a few hours before. But his expression was simply surprised. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to come...?" Jack struggled to think of something that would make sure the Doctor didn't try running off in his TARDIS again. "Help me sort out some of the junk that comes through the rift?"

"Okay," the Doctor replied. He bit his bottom lip, looking as if he was about to say something else but then the moment was gone.

"Come on then," Jack smiled encouragingly, though on the inside he was close to whooping with joy. He only had one more chance with the Doctor - he had already messed up once and that wasn't going to happen again. Things could only take so much bending before they shattered, so he was going to be as patient as he had to be if he wanted the Doctor to be happy. Happy people didn't try to kill themselves, and that was his top priority. Game plan A was in motion.

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><p>AN Yes it was short. So bite me. And as for the actual content. I don't even know. I seriously don't know about this chapter. Please tell me what you thought, or I will sit here ripping my hair out!

Please review? I am going to be demanding and beg you to get my reviews to 90 before I update. Or 100? Come on, you can do it!


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N Oh My God. I asked for 90 reviews and you lovely people out there gave me 96. I am eternally grateful. So I'm updating early!(for my standards…)_

_I am going to see the musical Wicked this Friday and I am dying of excitement. So this chapter might seem a bit distracted. But don't worry. Soon the fillers will be at an end! I already know what's going to happen. Coughcough kind of coughcough. _

_Enough of me. Here is le chapter. And by the way since I don't watch Torchwood there is no avoiding that some of this is inaccurate. Please just think of my Torchwood as a kind of alternate universe Torchwood._

_I don't own Doctor Who, yadayada, nor do I own the slight change on a quote which I stole from Glee. If you watch glee, see if you can spot it! It is something Burt says. _

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><p>"There is loads of stuff in here," Jack gestured towards one of the store cupboards, filled with boxes. "We always mean to sort it out, but… Stuff comes up."<p>

The Doctor remained silent. His shoulders were slightly hunched and he was looking at the crowded room with trepidation. "I'll wait here," he choked out, his voice quiet and fearful.

Jack felt a bit confused, but accepted that the Doctor didn't want to enter the room. Looking around, he saw that there were no windows or other exits. Was the Doctor claustrophobic? Or had he ever been locked in a space like this? Jack added this to his mental fact file, and hurriedly hefted two boxes into the air. He staggered out and closed the door, beckoning for the Doctor to follow him to his desk. He set down the two cardboard containers with a muffled bang, noticing the Doctor's involuntary flinch at the noise.

"What about I do one, and you do one? I'll ask you if there is something I'm not sure about, O.K?" Jack tried to get the Doctor into a conversation, but all he did was nod his head.

Jack sighed internally and opened the first lid, his nose itching at all the dust gathered inside. The Doctor was still standing awkwardly next to him. Jack pulled out a chair and pushed the other box closer towards him. Taking the hint, the Time Lord sat down and stared at the box set in front of him.

"Could this be useful?" Jack asked, holding up a small, flat carton.

The Doctor glanced at it before shaking his head. "Hand wipes. They won't work here, different pollution," he said, in an alarmingly subdued tone of voice. Jack was worried. Normally the Doctor would have spouted a long stream of nonsense, confusing the hell out of everyone. He reminded himself of his patience and said nothing, throwing the item onto the rubbish pile.

Half an hour later his stomach started to rumble. He looked over at the Doctor, who was sitting stock still, staring at what looked like a letter stamp. His eyes were glazed over and Jack could see his fists were clenched, knuckles turning white. Jack's heart started to beat faster. "Doctor?" he said cautiously, fighting to keep his voice calm though he was feeling like an anxious whirlwind inside.

The Time Lord's head snapped around, startled. He seemed to look at the object in his hand and paled. "Throw it away." He said emotionlessly, chucking it at Jack and reaching inside the box for another object the rift had spewed out.

Jack took the metal and stared at it curiously, noting that two letters were engraved on the underside. What was the point of having a letter stamp that only stamped two letters? Remembering the Doctor's reaction to it, he put the object to the side of his desk, deciding to keep it. He made sure the Doctor didn't see him do it. He didn't want to make the Time Lord feel like he was betraying his trust.

"Doctor?" Jack asked. The Time Lord turned around slightly. Jack took this as acknowledgement that he had been heard. "You know we all love you, right? Millions of people out there owe their lives to you. They sing your name and they love you. You have the biggest family anyone can have and we all care for you. So much."

The Doctor turned around, expressionless. A spark of anger lit in his eyes. "Then why weren't you there?" He snapped quietly. He looked back at the box in front of him, acting as if it had never happened.

Jack didn't have a reply. Just then, his stomach rumbled again. Oh yeah. He was hungry. "Do you want something to eat?" he asked the Doctor, noting his skeletal frame. He knew that regardless of the Doctor's answer, he would find a way to make sure he ate something.

"I'm not that hungry," the Doctor mumbled. Jack wasn't surprised.

"I'll bring some jammy dodgers anyway, O.K?" Jack stood up and as soon as he left the room, ran to the kitchen. He wanted to get back as soon as possible – he didn't want to have the Doctor out of his sight for too long, especially after what he had done before.

He grabbed a plate, piling the whole packet of the biscuits onto it – too much was better than too little - and dumped a bun onto it as well for him. He rushed back out, not expecting to run back into a solid person. The breath was knocked out of him and he nearly dropped the plate.

"Jack!" Gwen reprimanded, but her eyes looked uneasy.

Jack didn't say anything, still a bit angry from before even though he knew it was a bit irrational. He made to go past Gwen, but she stopped him with a light hand on his shoulder. "Is he O.K, now?"

Jack stopped still. "I hope he will be. I really, really hope so," he said sincerely, his voice soft.

"I don't mind, you know," Gwen said conversationally.

Jack looked at her, confused.

"That he's not human. I don't mind," she explained.

"Thanks," Jack said gruffly.

"Can I go see him?" Gwen asked.

"Maybe a bit later," Jack said, thinking of how frightened the Doctor was acting. "I don't want to overwhelm him. And don't ask him anything about his scars, or why he… is the way he is. I don't – I – I just want to stop him feeling pressured or anything. He'll tell us when he's ready,"

Gwen nodded thoughtfully. "Ianto called," she added.

Jack perked up a little bit. "Really?"

"Yeah. He just wanted to know if we were doing alright," Gwen said.

"So he's not coming back?"

"Well… Not yet. He said he needed some time to think things over,"

A tug of despair pulled at Jack's chest. "He has no reason to be jealous-"

"I know," Gwen interrupted him, a small smile on her face. "I understand now. The Doctor said something about nine hundred years. He will live forever as well, won't he? He's the only person you won't lose…"

"But that's the thing!" Jack raised his voice unconsciously. "He _can _die! It's hard, but it's possible. And he keeps throwing himself around like he doesn't matter. He doesn't even give a thought that if he dies, he'll just leave me on my own. Everyone always dies, and he stays, and now I'm just not so sure if he is there at all."

"Jack-"

"I need to go. I'll tell you if he's up to visitors, O.K?" Jack didn't wait for an answer, just stalked down the corridor.

The Doctor had nearly finished sorting his box of rift objects, and was sitting stock still in the chair. He didn't react when Jack came in.

"I've got biscuits!" Jack said, trying to be tempting.

The Doctor just shook his head.

"I'll put them here." Jack set down the plate between them, moving it a little closer to the Doctor in an attempt to get him to eat.

They worked away in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes, and Jack was pleased to see that two of the biscuits had gone missing when he looked away. He probably would rather eat on his own, Jack deducted. There was a rustling of paper next to him. Jack looked around, and saw that the Doctor was pressing the button on a square piece of green, soft – the only word he could use to describe it was dough. Every time the Doctor pressed the button, the papers on Jack's desk would rustle.

"Doctor? Please don't do that – I just sorted those files this morning," Jack said, keeping his tone as friendly as possible.

The Doctor curled in on himself, rocking backwards and forwards. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry Jack, I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry…" his voice sounded dangerously near to sobs at the end.

"It's O.K!" Jack said quickly, not sure if he should stroke the Doctor's back or if it would cause an unprecedented reaction. "I really don't mind!"

Slowly, the Doctor stopped shaking and looked at him in surprise, his large brown eyes sorrowful. "Really?" he whispered.

"Yes." Jack said firmly. "I honestly don't care what you do. I'm not going to hurt you, you know that, don't you?"

The Doctor didn't reply, but he looked thoughtful. And when Jack gave him a quick pat on the back, he stiffened, but did not flinch away. This tiny progress made Jack's eyes water. Although he felt like there was something he was missing, he felt sure that the Doctor _would _be okay again. He would make it happen.

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><p>AN So there it is. Tadaaaa. I hope this was longer. Also THE REVIEWS! You guys bowled me over! The reason I might start doing review targets is simple – it gives me more time to write my chapters in, and if I publish it late, I can (partly) blame you. Just joking… not : ) But anyway, I have some friends who do that and it works really well for them. I hope you don't mind!

So my hopefully review target this time is going to be a prestigious 115. Because I need some time to write the next chapter.

Review! I hope you enjoyed it! Also… Big thing happening to Doctor soon, shhhh :) :)


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N Thanks for the reviews guys! I didn't expect you to get there so quickly though – the only reason I set such a high target was because I wanted TIME to write this chapter. Oh well. Here it is. Le chapter. Again, if there are ANY mistakes or things that don't make sense, don't be afraid to tell me! (nicely…)_

_Also guys, you remember the letters US from a previous chapter? Well I just realised they could be interpreted as meaning the United States. They don't! I'm sorry if you may have found that offensive. I swear I never noticed that until now. Just saying…_

_Oops… I haven't put a disclaimer in ages. So here goes:  
>I am not the BBC. Or someone like Steven Moffat. I'm just a sadly obsessed person who loves writing fanfiction. In other words, people who own Doctor Who wouldn't be lowered to writing their own version of it on a website which is clearly called FANFICTION.<em>

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><p>"Jack, we can't go on in total lockdown of the Hub much longer. I know how much you love your coffee and the milk is running out. You said that the Doctor had blasted some aliens out of the sky and the only reason you locked the Hub like that was because of that message we got. Chances are, it was from them – can't you see that doing this any longer is unreasonable?" Gwen complained, trying futilely to squeeze some more drops from the juice carton in her hand. A single drop fell through the air, hitting the bottom of her cup with a <em>ping.<em>

"It's unhealthy to stay inside for so long," Tosh added.

Jack looked around unsurely. "You're probably right. We haven't heard anything since the Doctor got rid of those…" he trailed off, but a part of him was unsure. He recalled crocodiles, who, once they had "tagged" a food source, would follow them until they found the perfect opportunity to strike. Jack shook off the feeling, deciding to be more positive. "Okay," he said. "Unlock us."

While Tosh began typing away, Jack began to puzzle about how he could get the Doctor to talk. Obviously, the event – or maybe events, plural – was so bad that a direct question caused bad reactions and panic attacks. There had to be a more subtle way of doing it. Jack thought back to his childhood in the Boe Peninsula. He couldn't remember much, but he did remember a teacher who always gave him a lump of clay when he was feeling upset. "Take your anger out on this, Jackie," she would say.

Perfect, Jack thought. He suddenly felt glad he had let Tosh take the Hub out of its impassable state. As soon as he could, he would go out and buy some supplies – he _was_ going to find out everything that had happened.

The Doctor was sitting in his room peacefully, fiddling with a small piece of paper. He looked up when Jack came in. A small smile graced his lips as he nodded.

"Hello there," Jack grinned in the most friendly and non-threatening way he could manage. "Feel up to a little walk to the shops?" he asked hopefully, trying not to put too much pressure on the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at Jack in surprise for a minute, as if he couldn't believe Jack wanted to go somewhere with him, but after a while resolve strengthened in his eyes. "Okay," he said, Jack having to strain to hear his voice.

"Great!" Jack said, and winced at the excessive cheer in his voice. "Come on then,"

The Doctor stood up immediately, and they made their way to Roald Dahl Plass. When they were both almost out of the door, Jack realised with a start that the Doctor was about to go out in just a thin t-shirt and the ratty jogging bottoms he was borrowing indefinitely. "Doctor! You can't go out like that! It's freezing!" Jack exclaimed, feeling regretful when the Doctor started at the sound of his voice.

"I'm fine like this," the Doctor mumbled.

Jack shook his head reproachfully. "At least wear a jacket or something,"

The Doctor froze for a moment and when he looked up, his eyes were dark. "I said I was fine like this," he said, his voice dangerously close to growling.

Jack backed off straight away, although he was uncomfortable with the Doctor wearing such thin clothes with the almost minus degrees outside. "That's okay! I just thought you might be cold…"

"I won't be," the Doctor said, finality in his tone.

Jack didn't say anything else, afraid to push the Doctor any more on the subject. His hand unconsciously reached down to grab the Doctor's, and he was shocked when the Time Lord snatched his hand away. The Doctor had always loved holding people's hands. His flesh had been ice cold. For a moment Jack wondered if part of the reason the Doctor had always taken people's hands was to warm up his own ones, so he could pass for human more easily.

When they arrived at the supermarket, Jack quickly snatched a trolley from outside and went straight to the food section, wanting to get all the new provisions they needed as fast as he could. The Doctor was trailing behind him, hunched in on himself a little. The ex-Time Agent judged he was probably not used to having so many people around him yet. Jack decided to leave him some space to adjust. At least the fact he _could _go out in public was even more progress.

Once the trolley was reasonably full, he checked the Doctor was still behind him, before looking around for anything else that might be useful. The block of clay he had bought was wedged in between some bananas (hopefully the might trigger some of the old Doctor to come back) and a bottle of milk.

"Is there anything you want?" Jack asked, but the Doctor didn't respond. Jack's head whipped around lightning fast, and he relaxed when he saw the Doctor had just stopped in front of a shelf. His worry grew again, however, when he saw that the items in that section were mostly kitchen knives of different sizes and shapes. "Doctor?" he tried again.

The Doctor still didn't turn around. People were starting to look at the pair of them curiously. Jack hurried forward and slowly put an arm around the Doctor's shoulder. Finally the Doctor turned to face Jack, his eyes glazed over.

"Are you OK, Doc?" Jack asked, his heart beating drumrolls in his chest. He hoped with his life that all the progress they had made wasn't being cut short right now.

The Doctor shook his head slightly, his eyes returning to normal. He looked around, as if unsure of where he was. When his eyes rested on Jack, Jack was relieved to see recognition there. "Yeah, I'm fine," the sentence almost sounded like a question, since the Doctor's voice went up a bit at the end.

"Good. So, shall we go?"

The Doctor nodded timidly. As they walked outside, Jack saw a small shudder go through the Time Lord's body. He took off his coat, and handed it to the Doctor. To Jack's surprise, the Doctor accepted it wordlessly.

* * *

><p>Back in the Hub, Jack took out the small slab of clay. He weighed it in his hands for a moment, unsure about how to approach the Doctor with it. The Time Lord was currently sleeping again, but had eaten a whole banana when Jack offered it to him, though Jack did cut it up into small pieces as the Doctor's shaking hands had trouble peeling the fruit. Maybe he should just leave it in the Doctor's room with a note. He knew it was a coward's way out, but he was scared what the Doctor's reaction would be.<p>

Jack got out a pen, and in his most legible writing wrote:

_Dear Doctor,_  
><em>Here's some clay-<em>

Jack scrunched up the note and threw it in the bin.

_To Doctor,_  
><em>I thought you might like-<em>

No, not that either. Ripping off a new piece of paper, he started again. It was best to keep it simple.

_In case you get bored_  
><em>Love, Jack<br>__xxx_

Were the kisses too much? Jack paused for a second. No, he decided. He wanted the Doctor to know that he loved him. After all, that was his method of making the Doctor better. Tender, loving care. TLC.

He put down the small lump, sticking the post-it note on it. It was a bit wonky, but it would do. He left the room, knowing the Doctor wasn't likely to want him there, scrutinizing everything he did. If he did anything. Jack hoped that this method would work, at least a little bit. Because, so far, every time he had thought he had a great idea, it would mess up.

Cup of coffee in hand, Jack settled down to wait. He decided to give it a good few hours before he went to check on the Doctor again, but he kept his ears open for any noises that might come from the Time Lord's room. Plan A was in action, and going good. This was going to work.

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><p><em>AN. Yes. I know it was a short chapter. I don't feel like I can demand any review targets for this one, because the actual main event (well, one of them) happens next chapter. So I'm just going to say, please, please review. It's really important to me to know whether or not you all enjoyed it!_

_Review! I don't care if its anonymous, or you can only be bothered to throw in a smiley face or something, just anything that lets me know if you like this story!_

_It would only take a few seconds…_


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N So I haven't updated in weeks. But wait! Before you start to kill me, I have a very good excuse. Coughcough. So here's what happened. Me and my friends were pretending to be cheerleaders in our school changing rooms (and failing). There was an INCONVENIENT concrete beam a few centimetres above my head. Which I didn't see… So when I punched upward – ouch! I cracked a bone in my right hand, which is my writing hand. It STILL hurts but I am bearing the pain to try write this new chapter, but it will be short, and I'm really sorry! Please forgive me! Hug?_

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><p>The first thing Jack did that morning was sneak into the Doctor's room, who was still sleeping. He looked around the room, until he found what he was looking for. The clay. The Doctor had done something to it, but from where he was standing, Jack couldn't make out what the sculpture was supposed to be. He crept forward, wincing as he slipped and grabbed the cupboard so he didn't fall over. He cursed his nerves for the mistake. He reached forward and gingerly took the clay off the desk, making sure not to cause any grooves in the material. The Doctor rolled over and Jack froze. The Time Lord opened one sleepy eye, but he closed it again a few seconds after. Jack sighed silently. He continued his journey out of the room, and made his way to his office, aching for a good cup of coffee.<p>

He looked down at the object in his hands, and cocked his head. He could clearly make out a leg, and maybe a head, but the rest had been squashed beyond recognition. It looked as if the Doctor had made a figure of a man, and then squashed it. He looked closer, and saw the imprint of a fist, confirming his suspicions. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but he was sure that someone had done something to the Doctor. If he ever found out who, and where, they were, much worse things were going to happen than making a clay model and punching it. Yes, Jack thought. Worse things.

Jack reached for the door handle to his office, and turned it, surprised to see the door was already ajar. He poked his head through, and his breathing stuttered.

"Ianto!"

Ianto was standing in the middle of the room, staring at something in his hands. Jack moved his body all the way through the door and straightened his jacket.

"Ian-" Jack started, but Ianto cut him off.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, holding out the letter stamp Jack had taken off the Doctor when they were sorting out the rift objects.

"It came through the rift, but why are you-"

"Jack," Ianto said quietly, his voice serious. "The Doctor has a…" he gulped. "These exact words, in his skin-"

"You don't mean…" Jack trailed off. Ianto nodded. Jack's face turned paler and he clenched his fists. "They branded him," he said harshly. He turned on his heel, and wrenched open the door, not sure where he was going, but knowing he needed to take out his anger on something, someone, and Ianto shouldn't have to be that person.

A tentative hand touched his arm, pulling him back. Jack held his breath and tried to stop the red haze of anger taking him over.

"Jack! Keep calm!" Ianto said.

"I know, I know. I am," Jack answered, gritting his teeth. "I need to go do something, anything,"

Ianto was silent for a while. After a while he spoke up. "How about we go and make him a cup of coffee?"

Jack just nodded, and together they made their way to the kitchen, the stamp lying on the desk – put aside, but definitely not forgotten.

A few minutes later Jack was back on his way to the Doctor's room with a steaming cup of coffee, no milk but plenty of sugar, the way he remembered the Doctor liking it. He knocked on the door slightly before he came in, in case the Doctor was awake.

"Morning, doc," he said, keeping his tone level. The Time Lord opened his eyes with a snap, the sudden act startling Jack a bit. He turned around, and something in his eyes softened.

"They never used to do that," the Doctor said so quietly Jack wasn't sure if he was meant to hear it. Jack followed the Doctor's line of vision to the cup in his hands. He fought against the urge to break into a giant smile. The Doctor had just told him something! Of his own free will! He held the cup near the Doctor, giving him the chance to decline. The Time Lord took the coffee gratefully, and shuffled over on the bed a little. Jack took this as an invitation to sit down. At first the Doctor leant away from Jack a little, but then he moved closer, and Jack felt his cold skin centimetres away from his side.

There was silence apart from the occasional sipping of coffee. Jack didn't start a conversation, it was a comfortable quiet.

"Thanks," the Doctor said when he had finished the cup.

"Anytime," Jack said sincerely. He felt his face heat up again when he thought of what was beneath the Doctor's sleeve but he forced himself to think about something else.

A piercing siren filled the air, and Jack clutched his ears. He stood up immediately, and saw Ianto rush in through the door.

"Weevil attack!" he burst out through deep breaths.

Jack looked over at the Doctor. "I just need to go and sort it out, I'll be back in a few seconds,"

To Jack's surprise the Doctor clutched Jack's sleeve for a second before pulling away. "No please, don't go!" he whispered. "I'll come with you!"

Jack nodded, and reached out to take the Doctor's hand like he always used to. His grip was returned and for the first time Jack realised how much he missed the familiar feeling. There was no time to think about it now, though. They rushed out down the corridor, Jack slowing down to keep the Doctor's pace, remembering the time when the Doctor had easily been faster than him.

On the way he reached out to grab one of the guns from a rack, but hesitated and took a stun one instead. Hefting it over his shoulder, he pushed open the double doors that led to the main room, and looked around. Weevils were lying on the ground, obviously gotten rid of by Owen, Tosh and Gwen, all of whom were surrounding the last one standing. Owen raised his gun to shoot, and Jack heard the Doctor whimper next to him.

"Stop!" he roared, and Owen froze, not lowering his gun. Jack moved closer to the weevil, the Doctor still holding his hand. The weevil was opening its misshapen mouth and closing it again, croaking sounds emerging from its throat. Its eyes found the Doctor and widened.

"Us!" it rasped out, and the inhabitants of the room gasped in shock collectively. Weevils weren't supposed to do things like that. "He belongs to us! Us!"

"What?" Jack demanded, trembling with rage. "The Doctor belongs to no one but himself!"

"No," the weevil continued. "He belongs to us!"

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><p><em>AN So I left it there for now. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but no promises. For example, with my hand the way it is, this chapter took about three hours to type. I'm definitely not abandoning the story or anything, though. _

_Please review and tell me what you think of this new development! It's the last main event before we find out what happened to the Doctor and everything, but there are a few chapters still planned before that happens. I left a few clues in this chapter, but I'm not sure if they're painfully obvious, or completely unnoticeable. _

_So please if you have time, review! Again, I'm not setting a target because this chapter was SHORT. And I can't type well one handedly. _


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N Here is the chapter that I should have updated ages ago. I got my cast off earlier this week and though my hand feels annoying weak, it's FREE! Anyway, enough of that – here is the chapter. I tried to upload it on Friday but FanFiction was being annoying and not letting me login. I apologise for the shortness. (every time…)_

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><p>A single gunshot echoed through the room. Jack lowered his weapon and stared ahead grimly. "Enough of that," he said. He was worried that the Weevil might provoke a reaction out of the Doctor – and not the good sort.<p>

"What was that about?" Owen demanded. "Because if we're going to have aliens coming in here claiming that the Doctor is their property often, I'd like to be warned!"

"I don't know," Jack said, his voice almost breaking. "I have no idea, and it's scaring me, alright, Owen?" he shifted the Weevil's body with his foot. "It was only a stun gun. The Weevil might be able to tell us some more later. Lock it in the cells," Jack knew he sounded harsh, but at the moment he couldn't care less, remembering the Doctor's whimper when the weevil had spoken.

"I'll go with Owen," Gwen said, and they dragged the alien out of the room.

Jack looked over at the Doctor. "You O.K, Doc?"

The Doctor was pale, and shaking slightly. "Yeah," he whispered, his fingers clenching Jack's more tightly. Jack sighed in relief.

"I'll go make some more coffee," Ianto offered, and looked at Jack. "Do you want to help me?"

"Well, I'm flattered, but to be honest we've just had-" Jack felt Ianto's glare and nodded. "Sure, why not?" he turned to the Doctor and guided him into a chair. "Be back soon, O.K?"

Jack waited for the Doctor to nod before he followed Ianto out of the room.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Don't you see? The Weevils said he belongs to us!" Ianto said, his tone desperate.

"I know what those- Oh. Oh!" Jack banged his forehead. "Why didn't I see that straight away? The Doctor belongs to _us. _Those same letters that were stamped into his wrist!"

"Exactly," Ianto said. "What are we going to do about it? Do you think whoever _us _is is going to come back for him?"

Jack frowned. "I hope not. I really do," he looked back at the door. "If anyone does, we'll be ready. But I have this feeling that they won't. The Doctor is just – drained. I think they've done everything they wanted to him."

Ianto just nodded, and gave Jack a light push back into the room. The Doctor was sitting next to Tosh, and pointing at the computer screen of her laptop. Jack couldn't make out what he was saying, but there was a small smile on his face.

Jack settled down next to them, listening with joy as the Doctor was explaining something to Tosh. His voice was quiet, and lacked its usual speed and enthusiasm, but it was still something. Jack gathered that there was something comforting about Tosh's quiet demeanour. A few minutes later Tosh stood up, with her laptop.

"The Doctor's going to help me fix our security system. It's always been malfunctioning a bit, but the Doctor thinks it might be something to do with the energy generators. Are you going to come as well, Jack?" Tosh said, shooting Jack an encouraging look.

"Of course," Jack replied, his heart jumping.

* * *

><p>The Doctor was tinkering with some cables, his nimble fingers sorting through them. Jack saw the look of concentration on his face, and it was so similar to how he had used to look when saving the world from something or the other, that Jack almost felt tears spring to his eyes. There were times when he would freeze for a few seconds, but then his eyes refocused and he carried with what he was doing. Each time jack moved forward, anxious, but Tosh held him back, giving him a warning look.<p>

Tosh was watching with interest, her eyes flitting from the Doctor's hands to Jack's face. Finally the Doctor removed his head from the wirings, closing the hatch with a flourish, then jumping almost unnoticeably at the bang of metal on metal.

"Finished," the Doctor proclaimed, his voice still not up to the usual volume. "That should do the trick,"

Tosh beamed. "Thanks!"

Jack patted the Doctor on the back carefully, noticing that he barely flinched. "Is there anything you want to do?"

The Doctor stood up, and his eyes were surprisingly dark in contrast to his face. "Yes. Can we go back to my room?"

Jack nodded, confused. Tosh silently stood up and sneaked out of the room, giving Jack a small smile.

Once they were in the Doctor's room, the Time Lord sat down on the bed and hugged his knees to his chest. He looked up, and motioned for Jack to sit down next to him.

"I know you've been wondering how I got these," the Doctor rolled up one of his sleeves to show the scars that littered his skin, grabbing Jack's hand with crushing force and pressing it down onto the ridges.

"I-" Jack began, but the Doctor cut him off.

"It's alright. Humans wouldn't be human without curiosity," the Doctor let a small smile grace his face, but it seemed out of place with his hard eyes. "They are not nice memories," he laughed harshly.

"Don't feel like you owe it to me to explain anything!" Jack cut in quickly.

The Doctor turned to face Jack. "I owe everyone something. Might as well start repaying that now,"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked suspiciously. It sounded like the Doctor wanted to – no, he wouldn't think about it.

"I mean that someone told me something a while ago, and I can feel it coming closer. And that I'm going to tell you everything. From the beginning," the Doctor swallowed and a shiver wracked his frame.

Jack laid an arm around the Time Lord's shoulders, snuggling into his side. "Are you sure you want to…" Jack trailed off, trying to tell if the Doctor really wanted to talk about what had happened to him.

"I'm not made of glass, Jack!" the Doctor snapped, tensing. "If I was I definitely wouldn't be here,"

"I'm sorry," Jack said sincerely.

The Doctor didn't answer, just stared at the wall - his face set into a mass of hard lines as he opened his mouth to speak.

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><p><em>AN And that's the end of the shortest chapter yet. I ended it here so the next chapter can be all about what happened to the Doctor – I know you all want to know, but sadly my imagination is not the best, so I really hope I don't disappoint. Anyway, I will post the chapter within a week or a week and a half this time, since I sadly don't have anywhere to go this half term. _

_Please review and tell me what you think of the stuff you found out in this chapter! I spent quite a long time typing it because it never turned out quite right. _

_Review?_


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N I have a lot of excuses for why this chapter was late, but since either of us are bothered to type/read them, let's just say that life got in the way and stupid things happened._

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><p>"It was my fault, really," the Doctor said, a mirthless smile on his face. "I shouldn't have gone back there – I knew they would be waiting. I just couldn't – one more time-" he broke off and stared at the ground.<p>

Jack stayed silent, hoping that the Doctor wouldn't change his mind about telling him everything.

"So they saw me," the Doctor said after a while, his voice breaking the silence that hung between them. Jack didn't prod for information on who _they _were – it was obvious it had something to do with the mysterious "us" that was popping up everywhere. "I didn't know they were there – I didn't think that…" he swallowed.

The Doctor's eyes wandered to the abandoned cup on the desk. He reached over and picked it up, holding it in front of Jack. "Look," he ordered.

Jack nodded, slightly confused as to where this was going.

The Doctor raised his arm and hurled the cup forward, where it smashed against the wall, shards shattering over the floor. A few drops of the coffee ran down the wallpaper. "First you see the cup being thrown, then you see the cup shattering, correct?"

"Well, sure, Doc," Jack answered.

"Imagine there is a race of creatures that live time backwards – first the cup shattering, then the cup being thrown - it's the perfect disguise. How can you hunt down anything that's living in a different direction to you? It's ironic, really. All this time, they've been watching me, and I never, for one instant, knew they were there." the Doctor blinked and looked at the ruined cup on the floor. He seemed to realise what he had done. "Sorry about that. I'll clean it up, later,"

"It's fine," Jack said, trying to keep his impatient side in check.

"It turned out they were holding a grudge against me from the Time War, when I-" the Doctor broke off again. Jack could tell this was difficult for him.

"So they tortured you for it?" Jack exploded, his voice still dangerously quiet. "It wasn't your fault, you have to know that!"

The Doctor managed a grin. "You have no clue of the things I've done, Jack," his face darkened. "No clue. They wanted me to be their leader. Warrior, and all that. I wasn't so cooperative. They didn't like that at all. In their minds, I belonged to them. And what to people do with stubborn livestock?" an unspoken _"beat them"_ was passed between them. "Of course I had no way to escape – I was living backwards, so the only way to escape was to have escaped already – endless paradox," he turned to look at Jack. "Two years," he half snarled. "Two whole years of their… Persuasion." He fell silent.

Jack felt himself prickling with anger, but forced himself to stay calm. He couldn't afford to let his mind get clouded now. The Doctor needed him. "How did you-" he gulped, and tried to keep his tone more controlled. "How did you escape?"

The Doctor chuckled. "I killed them, Jack. All of them." He put his head in his hands. "Genocide," he whispered. "Again." This was all it took for the Doctor to break down into a heap of sobs. Jack put an arm around him and held him as he cried. This time, unlike before, it was more healthy crying, Jack thought. He knew what it was like to keep something bottled up inside, how it ripped you apart from the inside.

Later that day, as the Doctor and Jack were once again sorting out Rift objects – it had become their mutual way of spending time together – the Doctor suddenly spoke up. "Torchwood Three," he said.

Jack cocked his head, acting confused, though he was almost certain he knew what the Doctor was talking about.

"That's where I went. Where they got me," the Doctor said, confirming Jack's suspicions.

Jack didn't pry any further, and he could see the Doctor was grateful for it. Some stories were better left untold, like the exact nature of each of his injuries. And some stories were still left to happen, Jack thought with a wry smile on his face. Any day now the Doctor would leave. He hadn't mentioned it, but there was an unspoken thought hanging in the air.

That was why, exactly one week later, when Jack got out of bed to find both Doctor and the TARDIS had vanished, he didn't panic. On his desk there was a small note, on blue paper.

_Thanks,_

It simply said. Next to it a small lump of clay lay, untouched. It was moulded into the crude shape of a banana. Jack felt a small pang sting his eyes, and he sank down into his worn chair. Don't be stupid, he told himself – you will see him again. The universe was a small place, when you thought about it.

Far away, and far into the future, a Time Lord was searching the most famous night clubs in all of time and space for a particular man. It was fitting, when you were dying, to see the man who had helped you survive this far.

_The story never ends. _

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><p><em>AN Yes this ending was kind of rushed. I really hope you enjoyed it anyway! Please review! I might post some one shots surrounding this fic that tell you more about what happened, depending on what you guys think :)_

_Please review and tell me what you think of the big reveal! As I said I don't have such a big imagination so sorry if you were expecting something better…_


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